Starfox Evil Book III
by Undead Fox
Summary: Here we go! The final book. this one'll probably be shorter than the others, but you never know. I just hope you guys enjoy reading about killing zombies as much as I enjoy writing about them.
1. Chapter 1

**Starfox Evil**

**Book III**

**Chapter One: Launch**

The feline mother coughed and pushed herself upright. Feeling someone grab her arm she jerked away and pressed her back against the wall.

"Easy now. I ain't aimin' ta hurt'cha", said the human who'd let her and her daughter in.

She coughed again, "Where's my daughter?"

There was a scuffling from across the severely damaged room, followed by a quiet moan. The still naked woman scrambled thru the dark in the direction of the sound, whispering, "Melody? Where are you?"

There was a pair of snaps followed by a wet sloshing sound as a pale yellow glow filled the room. She saw her daughter crumpled in the corner, what had been a large recliner laying on top of her were it had fallen thru the floor above. Both the mother and the human moved over and heaved the chair off the teenager, who groaned after she was freed.

"Thanks mom."

The human coughed as the two embraced and tossed each of them a long coat, "Here. T'ain't much but it'll do 'til we get y'all some proper clothes", he stepped over to the small window and pulled the debris blocking it aside. When light streamed thru the hole again the three survivors shielded their eyes for a moment, "That is if their's anyplace left out there."

The woman stood up, buttoning up the trench coat as she did so, saying, "Thank you very much Sir."

The human turned and smiled, "Please. I'm William Walker. You can call me Bill."

The woman shook his hand and said, "Miranda. And this is my daughter Melody."

The teenager gave a small wave after she'd pulled the rain poncho on. Bill nodded to her then moved over to a footlocker that was mostly undamaged. When he stood up he was feeding a pistol charge into a CEB-8. Turning to Miranda he held the weapon out and said, "Do ya know how at use it?"

Miranda grasped the weapon and Bill knew from the expression on her face that she didn't. he pointed at a small switch on the side, "This is the safety. The red dot means it's ready to fire. Just pull back on this to prime it and you're ready to go."

The woman swallowed and looked at the weapon as Bill turned back to the locker. He pulled on a large duffle bag, then drew a large hunting rifle. Hitting the primer her nodded with satisfaction as it let off a quiet whine, signaling it's activation. He turned to the women and said, "Let's get goin'."

"Go? Go where? We should stay here and wait for someone to come get us."

Bill turned to Melody and shook his head, "Ya don't get it do ya? This here is a quarentine, nothing gets in or out. That means that we are on our own, nobody is coming to save us."

Miranda gently pulled her daughter to her feet, "Please listen sweetie."

Bill moved over to the wrecked stairs and carefully climbed up. He turned the manual knob and jumped back when the door fell out into what was left of the house. The side nearest to the explosion had collapsed in on itself, leaving only a narrow, cramped space for them to exit the basement from. As the three of them scrambled out of the wreckage and stepped out onto the rubble filled street, upturned and burning ground cars littering the area as if they'd been left around by some giant child. Walking a ways into town they came to the ledge of a large crater, at least a hundred yards across.

Bill whistled and said, "Ain't nothing I've ever seen that could do this kinda damage without leavin' fallout behind."

Miranda shook her head, "I don't know. But whatever it was I'm grateful. There's no way in hell any of those bastards that… that hurt us survived it."

Bill nodded as The older woman hugged her daughter and they turned toward the edge of town as Bill said, "C'mon. The noise alone's probly attracted evry zombie on the continent. We need to get outta the city."

Those three spent the afternoon picking their way thru the abandoned city, finding the once busy streets eerie in their silence, the only sounds those of the three survivor's feet on the pavement, and the unmistakable groaning and shuffling of the undead. As they passed the mall they heard one of the zombies scream and the pounding of a hoard of feet, moving in their direction.

Bill grabbed Miranda and shoved her and her daughter thru the front door, grateful that it was open. As he ran in behind them they heard the feet drawing closer. Slamming the doors shut he saw Miranda start punching numbers into the security keypad nearby. The system beeped and there was a quiet latching noise as the doors locked. Then a gate dropped down from the ceiling, further protecting them from the dead outside.

As Bill backed away from the doors the first zombie reached them at a full sprint. The infected human hit with such force that he killed himself, his neck braking as he dove into the transparasteel plate. Others followed suit. Some died, most didn't. They just beat uselessly against the panel, smearing it with congealing blood as their relentless hunger drove them.

Bill let out a sigh of relief and turned to Miranda, "How'd ya know the code?"

Miranda swallowed, her eyes big as saucers as she watched the dead try and reach them, "I work here. I manage the hardware store upstairs. Every manager is given the code in case they're the first ones here in the morning."

Bill nodded solemnly and patted her on the shoulder. Then he looked around at the various stores. Spotting an Old Navy he said, "Are there alarms on the store fronts?"

Miranda nodded, "Yes but they're a different code. And they have to be activated in each store's office."

Bill walked up to the clothes store and tried the door. It swung open easily, the only sound a small digital chime announcing customers. Immediately a zombie, dressed as a janitor came rushing out from the back. Bill stepped to the side and smashed the undead raven in the face with the butt of his rifle, crushing it's beak and sending it crashing to the tiled floor. The human immediately jumped on top of him and twisted his head to the side, breaking his neck with a violent crunch.

Looking around the human saw no more zombies rushing them, so he let out the breath he'd been holding and sad, "Get yerself some real clothes. Holler if ya need me."

The human walked away, a limp starting to show in his step. Keeping his rifle at the ready he moved thru and checked each of the stores on that level, all empty. As he moved to the last one in line he heard movement behind him. Whirling around he let out an exasperated breath as he found himself aiming at Miranda and Melody.

"God! Damnit woman! I coulda blown your head off!"

From behind her mother Melody muttered, "S-sorry Bill."

The human sighed and turned back to the store, "C'mon. This here's the last one I need to check."

He turned back to the store and smirked, "I used to love Cabelas."

Will sat quietly inside the eight foot metal box given to him by the military. The OEP, or Orbital Entry Pod, was what he would be riding down to the surface on this top secret mission. Shuffling a bit to try and settle a bit further into the padded seat he muttered into his COM, "You'd think they'd at least make the damn things more comfortable. It's a long way down."

Even though his partner was only six feet in front of him, the scarred mouse only heard his response over the COM, thanks to their sealed pods.

"I guess it wasn't in the budget."

This roused a chuckle from the other soldier who set about making a final check of his gear…

One emergency transponder beacon. Check.

One Lance-Rock model eight sniper rifle with plasma disrupter modification for maximum stopping power. Check.

One Glock model eight Compact Energy Blaster. Check.

Five charges for each firearm. Check.

Food and water for three days. Check.

Ghillie suit. Check.

A knock on the transpara-steel plate in front of him got his attention and the mouse looked up. The Drop Technician held up two fingers then tapped his wrist once.

Two minutes.

Will nodded and fastened his crash harness. As it automatically sinched up he tapped the window, bringing up the keyboard and began to type, running the final checks on his pod.

As he finished a clock popped up his HUD.

0:10

0:09

He heard his COM crackle gently as the voice of the Drop Technician come in, "Good luck gentlemen, and Godspeed.

0:07

0:06

Will felt the frigate _Gillihan_ shift into position, it's keel at roughly a fortyfive degree angle to the surface below. This would give them the slowest entry possible, avoiding the sonic booms that usually follow orbital entries like this.

0:04

0:03

Then he felt the ship shudder and give a hard turn to port, shuddering even more as it did so.

0:02

0:01

0:00 **LAUNCH**

As his pod dropped away, firing small chemical thrusters to keep it in a stable decent, Will watched as a small group of fighters and bombers, each as black as night, except for the red and white octagons painted on their wings.

Will heard one of the marines yell over the COM, "Umbrella? What the fuck!"

Another said, "Why the hell would they wait almost a month to counterstrike?"

Will growled, "To let us get complacent again, to think that they were no longer a threat without Wesker."

As those words left his mouth they watched one of the bombers score a mortal hit, the nova punching thru the _Gillian_'s hull and inside. There was a flash and then the frigate was torn asunder, her two halves gliding apart, the fore out into space while the aft plummeted down into the atmosphere.

Then the automated computer in his OEP beeped and the clock reset, the bland automated voice saying, "Warning! Pod has deviated from designated flight path. Preparing alternative landing zone and decent track. Estimated time of arrival 16:25 hours Zulu."

16:18:25

16:18:26

16:18:27

**End Chapter One**

**Hey everybody! So whaddya think? How does the first chapter of Book three stack up? Now for you people who didn't get the reference in the end of book two, I'm gonna throw in a bit more Left 4 Dead with the infected, since they came up with some of the best zombies I've ever seen.**

**Also I'm going to be ripping off Halo Reach pretty hardcore with the Starfox armor. **

**If you've played Reach and have any suggestions for the armor configurations for Will and Gunner send me a PM and let me know.**

**As Always, Enjoy and please review**

**Undead Fox**


	2. Chapter 2

**Starfox Evil**

**Book III**

**Chapter Two: Brace for Impact!**

Eric Connor, Gunner to his friends, growled as another red light began to flash on his HUD and a new automated warning sounded, "Warning! Airbrake malfunction!"

Swearing the ferret confirmed this by looking at his altimeter, and he was dropping **way** to fast. This was why Gunner hated these pods. All their systems were tied together, so they didn't fail often. But when they did, everything tended to go fast. His first hint that something was wrong was the transparasteel window solidifying and turning black, hardening to survive a landing several minutes before it was supposed to. The second was the sudden rush of wind as the atmosphere vented at nearly thirty thousand feet.

Luckily he'd already sealed his armor, so he was in no danger of suffocation. Then came up the second reason he hated these things. If they deviated from their original flight path, they had almost no maneuvering capabilities.

Basically…they flew like rocks.

"Warning! Obstruction detected! Impact in in one minute thirty seconds."

"Mother FUCK!"

Gunner furiously typed into the panel, trying to get something to work as a second timer replaced the first and began to count down. By some miracle he managed to get the COM system operational.

"Will! Goddamnit Will answer me!"

A small hologram of the mouse's helmeted head popped up, "What the hell's going on? Your pod's spinnin' like a top!"

Gunner snarled as his fingers flew over the console, "Couldn't take a shuttle down, oh no that'd be too easy. Couldn't even take down a God damn AR-wing. No! We had to do this **God damned drop pod BULL SHIT!**"

There was a pause then, "Where the fuck are we landing anyway!"

Will checked his pod's computer and said, "About thirty clicks from our original LZ", a pause followed by, "Aw fuck."

Gunner glanced at the small hologram and asked, "What?"

"Gateway City. The damn computer says that we'll be landing in the industrial district of Gateway City."

The ferret swore under his breath and said, "Figures. Well since my pod's freakin' **the fuck out**, set up a rally point and send it to me over the squad channel", when the little blue diamond popped up on his helmet's HUD he said, "Good I'll see you there."

* * *

><p>Gateway City Shopping Center…<p>

Bill walking into the outdoor outlet first, rifle held ready. Miranda was right behind him, her pistol in both hands and Melody right behind her. They all nearly jumped out of their skin when the chime sounded, signaling someone had entered the store. The three were quiet for several moments, just waiting for that telltale scream. Hearing nothing they moved further in. just from the mess they could tell that there'd been some looters, but most of the store was untouched as most of the population had evacuated quickly.

Miranda looked around sadly, just standing there, when she saw Bill walk over and grab a large backpack from a rack and begin filling it with supplies.

"What are you doing? You can't just take those!"

Bill actually laughed, "Why? Because it's lootin'? Look missie, it's be lootin' if there was some way ta recover from this mess. There ain't, I've seen it tried. So lootin' don't apply. This is scavenging an' bein' resourceful in order to survive. If you don't wanna do it fine. But don't come cryin' to me when hunger sets in, or if some scrape you get gets infected, cause I'm gonna make what's mine last as long as possible", he threw in another MRE before looking around, muttering to himself, "Now where's the damn firearms department?"

Miranda adopted a sort of exasperated glare as she watched the human move thru the store with a purpose. Then she was utterly shocked as her daughter strode past her and grabbed a second bag, and began to throw supplies inside.

"Melody! What are you doing! Stop that!"

But Melody just snapped, "Mr. Walker's right mom. This isn't looting, it's surviving."

She pulled the seal closed as the final MRE fell into place. Then they heard a massive roar and crash from outside. They each looked at each other before running for the stairs, grabbing their bags as they went…

* * *

><p>"Warning! Primary hatch is blocked. Detonation of primer pins is not recommended."<p>

Gunner Groaned and blinked…

"Warning! Emergency hatch is jammed."

Reaching for the buckle in his chest Gunner unclipped his harness… and crashed down onto the front of the pod, growling, "Mother fucker this ain't my day."

After he got his bearings he turned 180 degrees and gave a solid kick to the emergency hatch, located in the roof of the pod. After five solid kicks he'd only succeeded in confirming that it was well and truly jammed. Laying back, feeling every single bump and bruise from his apparently violent crash landing he tried his armor's COM system, "Will? Come in. The damn hatch is jammed."

Waiting a few seconds he tried again, "Will. Can you hear me?"

He was incredibly surprised when he got somebody else instead.

"Hello? Can y'all hear me?"

* * *

><p>The three survivors had rushed up the stairs and out onto the roof, immediately looking for the source of the loud crash. It hadn't been too hard to find. A few blocks down the road there was an apartment building, manybe six or seven stories tall. It had a massive chunk torn out about three or four floors up and the street in front of it had a small impact crater, and they could just make out the edge of something long and metal showing over the lip of the hole. Bill reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of binoculars. Putting them to his eyes he looked at the sight and shook his head.<p>

"Ain't a bomb. Woulda gone off already."

Miranda swallowed before muttering, "Well what is it then?"

The human shook his head, "Not a damn clue. But it might've just given us the shot we needed. You can see them zombies 'r movin' towards it. If we give'em a few minutes, they might just move far enough for us to make a break fer it."

They went back inside and finished grabbing supplies. Just as they started towards the front doors, grinning in relief when they saw the zombies had moved on, when something in Bill's bag squawked, followed by a very quiet voice saying ,"Will? Can you hear me?"

Both felines stopped dead and stared at the man as he scrambled to pull the bag off and open it. Before the smart-seal could even open all the way his hand was rummaging around inside and pulled out a small COM transceiver as the voice came back, "Will. Come in."

Bill depressed a button and said, "Hello? Can y'all hear me?"

From the COM he heard, "Who the hell is this? This's a military channel."

Bill re- pressed the button and said, "Look son. It sounds at me like y'all don't have a whole lotta options. Now d'ya want our help 'r not. 'Cause I've got no problems with leavin' yer sorry ass behind!"

Then a third voice said from behind them said, "I wouldn't advise that."

* * *

><p>Will groaned as he came slowly awake, his head pounding. Even with all the advanced technology put into these pods, emergency landings were always jarring. Opening his eyes he looked out the clear again window…and had to shake his head at what he saw. He hadn't landed yet. He was stuck in a footbridge over a street, about thirty feet up. Sighing, the mouse activated the console and brought up the ejection program. Around him four small green lights lit up and he hit them in sequence. As soon as he hit the last one the front of the pod blew off, landing on an abandoned ground car below, crushing the cab.<p>

And that's when the pod shifted. Reacting quickly Will grabbed his personal pack from between his feet and jumped down. Thanks to his armor he hit the ground with a dull thud and rolled away, coming up in a kneel with his sidearm out. And a few seconds later the pod crashed down, landing on its back a few feet behind him. Wincing at the loud noise Will ran over to it, not waiting for the dust to settle.

Reaching in he hit another button and a panel in the bottom of the pod popped open, revealing the hardcase containing his rifle. He snatched it and took off running towards the blue diamond on his HUD.

Nearly a minute later he head Gunner's pod go roaring by overhead, roughly in the direction of the rendezvous' point. Will took off in that direction, stopping only when he heard the undead howl. Peeking out of the alley he was taking cover in he saw nearly fifty zombies run away from an emergency exit in the side of the mall. Moving quickly he tried the manual knob, and darted inside. Hearing sounds inside he drew his sidearm and moved thru an OLD NAVY store, the thick rubber on the bottom of his armored boots dulling his footsteps.

When he heard several footsteps coming he took cover behind a rack of shirts and coats, a bright red holo-ad reading 50% OFF! He reached up and turned off the display.

"Will? Come in. The damn hatch is jammed."

As the voice of his comrade came over his suit's speakers will heard the footsteps come to a stop in front of the shop he was hiding in. Fearing that reaching up to respond would catch whatever was out there's attention Will did nothing, simply thinking at what he thought were zombies, "_Go away. There's no food here._"

"Will. Come in."

Will was about to risk it since it appeared the zombies outside weren't going anywhere when he heard a voice with a drawl from out front, "Hello? Can y'all hear me?"

Over the supposed to be secure line Will heard, "Who the hell is this? This's a military channel."

As the mouse stood up to look thru the glass storefront to see an aged human and two feline women he heard the human say, "Look son. It sounds at me like y'all don't have a whole lotta options. Now d'ya want our help 'r not. 'Cause I've got no problems with leavin' yer sorry ass behind!"

Stepping out into the main corridor Will said, "I wouldn't advise that."

All three whirled about to face him, the man aiming a civilian rifle at him as Will returned the favor with his blaster. The three civilians blanched when the saw Will in his green and brown recon armor, which was vague enough that they had no chance of guessing his identity or even his species. But the one thing they did recognize was the blue and green Starfox emblem painted over his heart.

The elder of the two women looked between the two men and said, "God Bill put it down. With that kind of tech he's clearly been sent by the government to save us", she looked pointedly at the armored soldier, "Right?"

Will holstered his sidearm and said, "Not quite."

Bill growled and again aimed his rifle, "God damn you! Yew'd just leave us t' die!"

Will held his hands up palms out, "Rescuing civilians is not part of my mission. But I wouldn't just leave you here. My teammate out there and I have to recover someone very important to government functionality. We've got forty-eight hours to do it in. You need me to get you off-world, and I need him to complete my mission. So you help me and I'll help you. Deal?"

Bill kind of glared at the non reflective black facemask. Then he growled, "Damn", before putting away his rifle and saying, "Well I guess we ain't got much choice."

Will nodded, "Good. Now hand me your radio. I need to have a private conversation with my comrade."

Grumbling Bill tossed the small device to the armored soldier who simply held it as he tapped the side of his helmet saying, "Gunner? You read?"

* * *

><p>Inside the wrecked pod Gunner swallowed, "Yeah I read ya. Um Will? Do you think you can…urk!"<p>

The ferret grunted as the OEP shook violently. The infected had reached it.

"…Hurry the fuck up!"

**End Chapter Two**

**Hey Folks! here's chapter two. sorry it took so long but I now have no computer access other than my dad's laptop. And I can't use it very much. but i am writing hardcopies off line 'til I can get a new laptop. so when i do get on you guys might be getting several chapters at once! anyway please read, enjoy, and review!**

**Undead Fox**


	3. Chapter 3

**Starfox Evil**

**Book III**

**Chapter Three: Out of the Dark**

He'd been afraid of the dark once, as a child. It was one of his earliest memories. He'd been five or six, it's so hard to tell with those young ages, and the power had gone out. He didn't know why he'd woken up simply that he had, and immediately fell out of bed with a yell. As soon as he hit the floor he pushed himself backwards until he hit something, but still he couldn't see. So he'd started crying. That had been how his father'd found him when he'd brought a light in, curled up in a ball against the wall and crying. His father came and knelt in front of him setting the flashlight between them. And immediately the boy'd leapt into his father's lap, still crying and shuddering.

"Now now son. There's nothing to be scared of. There's nothing here that can hurt you. It's all right. Here let me show you."

His father had turned off the flashlight again and sat there with his son still in his arms. After a few moments he stood up and felt his way over to the closed window. Once he found it he said, "You should never be afraid of the dark son. Because there's always light in the end."

With those words he'd opened up the blinds and let the light of a full moon stream inside.

The next day he'd had gone on a mission… and James McCloud was never seen again.

Now Fox was older, wiser, and stronger. He was no longer afraid of the dark. And he'd taken his father's words to heart.

"It's gotta be here somewhere."

With his cybernetic eye set to night vision he had been searching the seemingly endless mines for what felt like weeks now trying to figure out where the ambient light was getting thru. And he knew there was light coming in, or else his vision would be far more impaired than it currently was. Finally, as he searched what the map he'd pulled off the control room wall indicated as tunnel 29D, the newest and deepest of all the branches of the mine, he found it. And looking at it gave him both hope and immensely frustrated him. The light was coming from a long tube in the ceiling, a ventilation shaft.

"Why the hell is it always the vents", Fox asked himself as he stared up at the small circle of sunlight, "Now how am I gonna get up there?"

It was then that he heard a loud crash from the entrance. Running back as fast as he could he saw that while the heavy metal doors were still solid, the stone around the frame was starting to crack and shatter, large chunks of stone falling to the floor. With his left hand gripping his blaster tightly and his mechanical right clenching into a fist he watched as the infected outside started forcing their way in.

Will and the three civilians he'd found were back on the roof of the mall watching as a small horde of infected swarmed around Gunner's crashed and damaged Orbital Entry Pod, or OEP. Bill, the only human of the group waved a frustrated hand and said, "Alright Mr. Smartass Military boy! Just how d'you plan to get yer pal outta that big metal casket he's in?"

Will turned his armored head and said, "I'm thinking dammit. Now shut up."

The mercenary was quiet for another minute before he said, "Have the infected left the front door yet?"

The youngest of the group, Melody said, "I'll check", and ran over to the far edge of the roof, casting a quick glance over the edge, "Yes they're gone!"

Will smiled inside his helmet and said, "Good."

He looked at Melody's mother and said, "Grab your things Miranda. We're moving."

The older feline nodded and picked up a pair of duffel bags, handing one to Melody after slinging the other around her shoulder. They quickly followed Bill and Will back inside and down to the front door. As Miranda entered the code to unlock the door Will outlined his plan.

"Now I'm going to need you three to be on the look out for anything that still looks drivable. Preferably an aircar but a ground model will do. Also keep an eye open for emergency response vehicles. Patrol cars, ambulances, you know them we'll need one to get Gunner out. I've sent a pulse out thru my suit's FOF system and found an APC a few blocks over. We'll use that to get out of the city if nothing else is available. Just stick by me and you'll be fine."

He then set off at a quick pace, sidearm at the ready. About halfway to the little beacon on his HUD Will was tapped on the shoulder by Melody who pointed down the street. There was a police ground unit sitting half on the sidewalk, the red and blue lights on it's roof still flashing.

"Good job kid."

She kind of scowled at him, "Hey! I'm sixteen. I'm not a kid."

Will just snorted, "You're younger than me, so you're a kid. Now come on."

He jogged in the direction of the cruiser, but stopped abruptly when he saw the thick leg dangling out of the open door, as if the officer had simply stopped on a hot day and left the door open to feel a gentle breeze. Holstering his blaster Will drew his combat knife and began creeping up on the car, wishing the sun were in any other position so he could see thru the glare. When he was but a few feet from the door he felt his heavy boot settle on something and crush it with a soft _crunch_. In the silence of the dead city the sound thundered in the ears of everyone present, making Will freeze in place and the civilians hide behind a crashed aircar. From the cab of the squad car there came a groan and the leg shifted, quickly followed by it's partner as their owner stood from the vehicle. The bull was massive. Definitely standing on the large end of the size spectrum, even for his species. He was easily nine foot tall probably weighing almost four hundred pounds. And he was most definitely not alive.

Will gawked as the huge zombie towering over him gave a low growl, but made no advance upon the dumbfounded soldier. Instead it narrowed it's remaining eye and sniffed the air, as if confused. Then it simply turned and shuffled away. Will gulped and slowly put away his blade as soon as the zombie had it's back turned. As it shuffled off down an alley Will relaxed slightly and waved the others forwards. As soon as he was in range Bill whispered, "Why the hell didn't ya put him down boy?"

Will said, "Simply put. I don't think I could have. Bulls have really thick skulls, I doubt I could've pierced it with this. And I know I wouldn't have been able to break his neck before he got the attention of more of them."

He was quiet for a moment as he mentally shook it off, just another brush with death in an ever-growing list. When he was ready he said, "Alright. Who wants to drive this thing?"

Miranda gawked and said, "What?"

Will sat in the driver's seat and passed his I.D. over the scanner, "Emergency Military Override 99037William Patterson Trident.

"Override accepted Gunnery Sergeant Trident. Your access has been logged."

Will stood back up and said, "I am the only one here who can drive that APC. So one of you will have to be the distraction."

At the appalled looks he was given will shook his head and snapped, "Look. They have no chance of catching you, so long as you're careful. Just drive over and turn on the siren to get their attention and drive away. After you get outside the city kill the siren and head to the Long Shore Motel, just north of here on the lakeshore. The rest of us will take the APC and link up with you there", checking his mission chronometer he said, "If you don't hear from us in say… three hours. Okay? Then just go. Keep driving and don't stop 'til you absolutely have to."

Then he pointed at Bill, "You do it."

The human scoffed, "Excuse me? Why should I? Why not you?"

Will crossed his arms and said, "Because on top of what I already said I'm also the only one who can maneuver Gunner's pod into position to open it. And I won't ask Melody or Miranda to split up, just in case something goes horribly wrong", he then leaned in close, his dull facemask stopping a mere inch from crashing into Bill's nose, "Now get in the car."

Bill flinched slightly when the armored soldier leaned close, but nothing more. After a moment of staring into that emotionless black visor he sighed, "Fine."

The human sat in the squad car and drove down the street, turning and heading back the way they came. Will waved the two females over and said, "Let's go."

As the three made their way around the impact crater, Bill slowly and quietly drove the squad car up behind a building on the rim where he could see most of the far side and wait for the signal. Feeling very exposed he held his pistol tightly in one hand, hoping he wouldn't have to use it. After waiting about twenty minutes he saw a flash from across the crater, then another. Setting his jaw he flicked on the sirens and lights and drove out into the impact zone, running down a pair of zombies that turned towards him. Smashing the accelerator he swung the car in a wide ark over the broken pavement, before driving away, dozens of the undead chasing after him. After a moment of near silence, the only sound that of the sirens growing distant, Will stood up from his position behind a broken wall and stepped out into the open, his civilian charges behind him.

They quickly moved to the damaged pod and Will delivered two sharp knocks on it's side before grabbing the trapped face and heaving, his armor lending him a strength he could never know without it, slowly lifting the pod off the ground, turning it to lay face up while the two women kept watch. As it settled onto it's side Will stopped for a breath, wishing he could wipe the sweat built up on his brow. As that thought crossed his mind Melody screamed.

Will snapped his head in her direction, then in the direction she was looking. Catching a shadow out of the corner of his eye he barely had time to avoid a large slab of concrete as it slammed into the ground right where he'd been standing. The piece of debris sent Gunner's pod spinning away.

As Will's eyes moved to the origin point of the debris he said, "Gunner? Respond! Respo…"

It was at that moment that he saw the massive, hulking form standing on the edge of the clearing. Grabbing his sidearm he held down the trigger for an overcharge and shouted, ""Hide", as the Tank began to charge,

His weapon only gathered a half charge before he released the trigger and the foot wide glob of plasma smacked into the Tank, which just charged right thru it bellowing it's fury as it's flesh was set ablaze. It swung a massive arm, which connected with Will's chest plate and sent him flying, his shields drained to zero. Crashing to the ground he rolled in an attempt to get his feet back under him as he felt the ground begin to quake as the tank charged him again. As soon as he could he turned and sprinted for the edge of the crater, scrambling over collapsed walls and a destroyed hovercar. Just as his right foot touched the ground he felt something grab his left ankle and stop him with a jerk.

Looking down he saw a long slimy tentacle wrapped around his boot, which was dragging him back towards the Tank, which had fallen into a rage as the plasma burns continued to spread across it's body. Following the slimy appendage back to it's source he saw another mutation, this one tall, with large bulbous sores all over it's body. The tentacle appeared t be coming out of it's mouth, and that's when Will realized it was the beast's tongue. Drawing his sidearm again Will aimed at the tall zombie and fired. His shot went a little low, striking the tongue and severing it about a foot from the creature's mouth, causing it to let out a grating scream and thrash around for a moment before doing something he never thought he'd see a zombie do…run away, leaving a cloud of green smoke in it's wake. The sound of his shot attracted the attention of the tank and it charged.

Instead of knocking him away again though it grabbed him and began to squeeze, trying to crush him to death with it's massive hands. As his shields popped and failed again, alarm blaring in his ears, Will brought both feet up and droved his armored boots into the Tank's distorted face. The sudden impact caused the Tank to jerk back, dropping the armored mercenary, who rolled away just as another voice shouted, "Hey! Asshole!"

The tank turned on the new voice just as there was a quiet _thoomp! _and something struck it in the chest, an object which began to beep menacingly. Will recognized that sound and scrambled to his feet and ran away as the tank roared briefly, then vanished in a flash of white fire. Will turned to see Gunner standing beside his pod, grenade launcher still smoking in his armored hands. The ferret's armor was more reminiscent of his Helljumper gear, the only difference being his helmet had a slim command network module on the side, and the armor's colors were white and blue, rather than standard issue black. Walking over he kicked a large chunk of still burning zombie and said, "I like this new launcher. Hey! Whaddya think? Judge 2.0?"

Will shook his head, "You call that thing whatever you want so long as you keep using it like that."

The two mercenaries' laughter was interrupted by a loud gravelly scream and will muttered, "Great. The tongue guy's back, Miranda! We've gotta move!"

Their run thru the streets was taxing, as they were chased the entire way to the APC by the tall zombie, which continued to take potshot's at them with it's regenerating tongue. But finally they made it, Gunner sealing the heavy rear door as Will slid into the driver's seat and logged on. As Gunner sat next to him he removed his helmet and plugged it into a nearby jack, projecting his HUD onto his side of the windshield. When he saw that they weren't moving directly towards their objective he said, "Will? Where are we going?"

Will flicked a switch, turning on the auto-drive as he reached up and took off his own helmet, "We've got another civilian to pick up", when he saw the look Gunner was giving him he chuckled, "Without him to draw away most of the infected you'd still be sitting in your box back there."

Gunner scoffed and folded his arms, "Whatever. All I'm gonna say is that we don't have a whole lotta time", he glanced at the mission clock on the display, "So we've gotta do this quick."

42:38:15

42:38:14

42:38:13

**End Chapter Three**


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